


118. believe

by fall_into_life



Series: Beacon University [38]
Category: RWBY
Genre: Alternate Universe - College/University, Anti-Faunus Racism (RWBY), Biphobia, F/F, Homophobia, Multi
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-06-07
Updated: 2019-06-07
Packaged: 2020-04-12 08:56:26
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,366
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19128748
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/fall_into_life/pseuds/fall_into_life
Summary: There's an anti-faunus group on campus, and they're loud. Unfortunately for them, Weiss is louder, Ruby is smarter, and they readily jump to Blake's defense.





	118. believe

**Author's Note:**

> Cardin is spouting what's basically antisemetic rhetoric, with "faunus" substituted instead. He also edges into some homophobic/biphobic speech. Please take care of yourselves.

Blake, Ruby, and Weiss don't meet up on campus often. Ruby and Weiss are in a lot of the same classes, but Blake doesn't share any with them, and Blake and Weiss have quietly agreed not to give the press any excessive ammunition. So they meet all together here and there, but more often in one pair or another.

They're all three supposed to meet for coffee that afternoon, but Blake can feel a stress headache building. If she forces herself to stay out in public and be sociable, it's only going to get worse.

She gets to their meeting point with apologies on her tongue, only for Ruby to beat her to it.

"Blake?" Ruby steps into her space, squinting up. "What's wrong?"

"There's an anti-faunus protest group on campus, and they're..." Blake's ears lie flat against her skull in remembered pain, "...very loud. They brought a loudspeaker."

Weiss' eyes narrow. "Where are they?"

"On the quad."

Weiss shoulders her pack and sets off at what Blake can only call a _stalk_.

"Wait, Weiss--"

The woman shows no sign of hearing, leaving Blake and Ruby scrambling to keep up with her.

In short, sharp movements, Weiss yanks her phone out of her pocket, hits the speed dial, and sets it on speaker.

"Winter? Are you on campus?" Blake can only barely hear Weiss' end of the conversation, the wind whipping her words away. "Yes. There is a demonstration you'll want to be aware of on the quad. Bring Pyrrha, if she's here."

She ends the call, slides the phone back in her pocket, and turns the corner.

Blake huffs, speeding up to try catching her. She doesn't want to _run_ , but Weiss is surprisingly fast despite being shorter than Blake.

By the time Blake catches up, Weiss is already on the quad, heading straight to where Cardin Winchester is preaching his hate.

"Ah, Miss Schnee," Cardin smiles broadly, clearly thinking he's found an ally. "So good to see the right kind of people on campus!"

"Is that so?" Weiss asks, her voice pitched to carry. "And what, exactly, are the wrong kind of people?"

He gestures out to the grounds. "Oh, you know. Those who don't share our genes."

"Faunus."

"Among others." He smiles again, his tone inviting her to smile with him.

"Others such as?" Weiss' tone is even, but Blake can hear the strain in it even from here.

Cardin gestures. "Those with... deviant desires."

Weiss' eyes narrow. "You mean homosexuals."

He just smiles wider.

"I wouldn't expect you to know this," Weiss says, her voice somewhere between lofty and arrogant, "but I _am_ currently dating a woman. Are you going to call me one of your 'wrong' sort of people?"

Cardin stutters, eyes going comically wide. Blake bites into the inside of her cheek to keep from laughing. His clear struggle between bigotry and haelthy fear of the Schnee name is chicken soup for the politically-active faunus' soul.

He eventually gets hold of his narrative again. "Of course not, Weiss, but surely you agree faunus are--"

"I do _not_ remember giving you permission to use my name," Weiss cuts in sharply, crossing her arms over her chest. Her eyes flick to the side, to where Blake can see Winter arriving. "And I cannot believe someone who got admitted to _Beacon University_ could possibly believe in the racist tripe that says faunus are lesser--"

"Do you see this?" Cardin says into his microphone, voice booming out of the loudspeaker. Blake takes a step back, flattening her sensitive ears against her skull. "A traitor to our race! How far the Schnee name has fallen--"

Before he can get further into his rhetoric, Weiss cuts him off. By _singing_.

She has over a decade of professional training, and while she can't completely drown out the loudspeaker, she can certainly mix the two sounds until it's an unintelligible mess.

Seconds later, the loudspeaker cuts out entirely. Ruby steps out from around the speaker, a satisfied little smile on her face and wirecutters in her hand. Cardin gapes at her, and starts yelling at his tech to fix it. Which is presumably why Ruby cut the wires instead of just unplugging things; it'll take a lot longer to fix this way.

Weiss gestures Blake closer, and now that the loudspeaker is off, Blake moves in.

Cool fingers wrap around her arm, and Weiss' intense gaze pins Blake to the spot. "I'd like to make it very clear where I stand on this issue." Before Blake can figure out what she means, Weiss' eyes drop meaningfully to Blake's mouth, then back up.

"You want to kiss me in front of an anti-faunus group, after announcing you're dating a woman." Blake swallows, only iron power of will stopping her from wetting her lips.

"We can have an amicable breakup next week," Weiss says, sincerity and barely-leashed anger radiating from her. "Close friends but romantically incompatible."

Blake tries to think with her logic instead of going with the loud part of her brain that would very much like to kiss the beautiful girl in front of her. "Most people already know I'm dating Ruby."

"Polyamory is a respected tradition." Weiss stops there, and Blake knows from endless nights of debate with her that she won't push again, won't continue to argue. She's made her position - and her desire to state that publically - clear.

There are many good reasons Blake should gently turn her down, but there's fire in Weiss' eyes, and Blake cannot fail to respond to righteous anger.

"Kiss me," Blake breathes.

Weiss wets her lips, reaches up to tangle her fingers in Blake's hair, and pulls her down.

If Blake had stopped to think about what kissing Weiss for political reasons would look like - and, surprisingly, she hasn't, despite the many other kisses she _has_ thought about - it would be quick and clean. Pointed, but lasting just long enough to make that point, and no longer. What actually happens is Weiss stepping forward, pressing into Blake from chest to hips. Her tongue touches the seam of Blake's mouth, and sweeps against Blake's tongue when entrance is granted. This isn't just a closed press of mouths to tell the racists where the middle Schnee child stands, it's a strongly-worded letter to anyone who ever _thought_ Weiss would stand with them.

When Weiss lets her go, Blake can't think around the fluff in her head. Later, she'll be grateful that her resting expression is mildly disapproving or thoughtful depending on the day, but in the moment she has just enough brainpower to drop her hands to her side when Weiss moves away. She can still taste Weiss' mouth.

Winter and Pyrrha step up, closing ranks against anyone who'd like to say something or ask any questions. Winter smiles and touches Blake's forearm, and Pyrrha 'coincidentally' steps between someone with a camera and Blake. There's a bit of conversation. Blake forgets her words the second she replies. Weiss' perfume tangles her thoughts together, brings up endless replaying memories of the kiss she never thought she'd get.

Somehow, the five of them get from the quad to the street, Winter and Pyrrha pulling away when they reach the edge of campus grounds. Blake hadn't meant to leave campus, but Weiss and Ruby seem to have other ideas. Between the sensory overload of the protestors and Weiss kissing her, it's easier to just let them guide her.

When they get to Ruby's apartment, Blake finds herself deposited on the couch. Ruby ducks into the bathroom, and Weiss sits on the coffee table. It's so strange that Blake blinks, suddenly focused.

"How do I help?" Weiss asks, her eyes searching Blake's. She opens her mouth as if to say something else, then closes it firmly.

Blake bites the inside of her cheek. Her body is still singing from nerves and _Weiss_ , but she knows what she wants. She reaches out, tugging lightly at Weiss' arm. Weiss studies Blake's face a moment more, then slides onto the couch at her side, pulling Blake in closer.

When Ruby comes back she fits herself into Blake's other side without a word, and Blake allows herself to breathe.

**Author's Note:**

> Second to last RWBY fic sitting in my drafts. :)


End file.
